Assessing Southampton: A Closer Look As To How Pochettino Has Saints Drilled

I think it’s a breath of fresh air to see Southampton do as well as they have this season, but what is the reasoning behind their ability this season?

Firstly, Saints manager Maurico Pochettino is a very large and hard name to spell, so in this article he shall be referred to as MoPo to save a horrible amalgamation of spelling mistakes.

With a draw against Manchester United on Saturday and a win at Anfield earlier this season, it seems MoPo has taught his team not to fear anyone, and when you can get four points from two away games at Old Trafford and Anfield, you know you’re doing an exceptional job.

It reminds me of Ian Holloway’s Blackpool the other year, but obviously Southampton are incredibly impressive at defending, unlike Blackpool were.

It’s evident they are a unit now under new management – they seem to have a wonderful coherence between one another and they press as a team and all know what they’re doing. It seems they have a continental mentality installed and all the players are willing to abide by it, and that makes MoPo’s job a whole lot easier.

The signings that Pochettino has made have also been inspired. Dejan Lovren has probably been the most outstanding centre-back this season and I have not seen him put a foot wrong in any of the games I have watched him in. He nearly got his second goal of the season against Manchester United this weekend but Adam Lallana deflected the ball in off of his calf.

Victor Wanyama has been an absolute wall and I refuse to believe he is only 21 years of age. He is built like an absolute tree but instills the ability of a quality footballer whilst being in the body akin to a London bouncer.

Both the midfield and defence have been the reason behind their spell of eight hours of not conceding a goal in the Premier League, which was broken when United scored against them on the weekend. MoPo seems to reckon they could finish in the top four, which may be a little bit too far, but I can see a top half finish, pushing into the Europa league spots.

Let’s see, shall we!